In recent years, budget cuts have forced many Rhode Island libraries to do more with less. A new study shows that these challenges are causing a serious crisis amongst librarians, many of whom are struggling with burnout, a lack of professional support, and low morale.
Erin Redihan, a lecturer in the history department at Salve Regina University in Newport, authored the study. She spoke with morning host Luis Hernandez about what library workers are facing and how some library systems are responding.
On why she wanted to study public library worker morale
Erin Redihan: I actually spent most of my professional career working in public libraries. When you work in that environment long enough, you start to notice change over time. You notice changes in policy, of course, but also changes in the way that people talk about their jobs, changes in the way that patron-facing interactions tend to turn out.
In 2020 – this all started right before COVID started – I was in conversation with two other librarians in my role as a library director, and we were talking about how the library field was really changing. In many ways, we’re seeing this burnout start to start to happen and we’re wondering, “Is it just us?” (I) kind of ruminated on that for a bit and then through more anecdotal evidence, (I realized) it’s not just us. So we were curious to see what some of the causes of this were, how libraries were dealing with it, and then in a few years, revisit the study and see what happens.
On the challenges facing library workers
Redihan: So we actually ended up with 434 responses. We were hoping to get 200. We got a whole range of everything from, “I love my job, I’ve worked here 50 years,” to “I need to get out of this job yesterday.” A lot of the things that we saw in common kind of boil down to really big issues with burnout. Even if it’s not (experienced by) that one individual answering the survey, they’re seeing it all around them and it’s affecting their jobs. So burnout was a big issue.
(Another issue was) having to constantly do more with less. A lot of municipal budgets have been shrinking over the years, and when there are cuts made, a lot of times those cuts aren’t made to the schools; a lot of times that money was coming out of libraries.
Another big issue is staff turnover. People who originally plan on staying at a job (for) 20, 25 years, after five or six years say, “Well, I need to leave this job because I’m burned out and/or I can’t pay my rent.” Those are kind of the broader issues that we saw pop up again and again.
On how library workers are adapting to today’s patron needs
Redihan: The public coming in, they have different needs than they did 15, 20 years ago. So more libraries are doing things like hiring social workers, but a lot of this burden, frankly, falls on staff. Is there really room in the budget to hire a social worker? In most instances, no.
...more libraries are doing things like hiring social workers, but a lot of this burden, frankly, falls on staff.
A lot of our interactions these days are moving away from, “Can I recommend a book? Can I help you with a research question?” to fulfilling more of the social service side of any kind of municipal department. I’ve attended more than one training where I learned how to use (the overdose reversal medication) Narcan. So if you have someone who’s overdosing in your building, you can help them out.
I think what’s really stressful is putting library workers in these situations where they’re completely out of their depth. They don’t really have the depth of training that you would need to deal with issues like these.
On what library workers enjoy most about their jobs
Redihan: One thing that came across again and again is that libraries are doing a ton of really interesting programming that’s getting people in the door. They’re putting on programs that they, maybe, they didn’t expect to five years ago. People are coming, showing up to their programs in droves. So they have a waiting list of programs, which is really cool to see because once you’re in the door for the program, maybe you’ll check out a book and make it part of your routine.
A lot of the respondents said things like, “You know, yes, we have problems, but at the end of the day, I feel really proud of what we’re doing.” There are issues out there, but you can tell that they really care. They really want to help the community. They have patrons’ best interests at heart.
So there’s a lot of reason, I think, to be hopeful.
